Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026: Second Stage
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-24
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Niamh Smyth (FF), Cavan-Monaghan

I thank everybody for their contributions, their helpfulness and their thoughtfulness in their statements, comments and observations. It has been a very wide and varied discussion. AI inevitably touches almost every aspect of society, from innovation and economic growth to public services and jobs. While these are important and wide-ranging issues, today we are here to introduce this legislation, which is focused on implementing the EU AI Act in Ireland and establishing the framework necessary for its effective supervision and enforcement. I have no doubt this House will continue to discuss and to debate the broader implications of AI in the months and years ahead. That is both necessary and welcome.
There were some comments that this is very rushed. Since I have come into the Department 16 months ago, these very smart and bright people to my right, the officials in my Department, have been working night and day on this legislation. They could in no way be accused of having rushed this without real and proper consideration and thought. While I do appreciate we are bringing it through the Houses quite quickly, I am certainly open to working with the Opposition on any aspect of this in the weeks ahead.
On the protection of fundamental rights, which came up quite a bit across the House, and the enforcement regime in the Bill, I point to the fact again that the EU AI Act has direct effect in Irish law and it sets out very clear obligations on providers of AI systems, deployers, importers, etc., that the Bill must be read alongside the EU AI Act. You cannot read or consider one without the other. Safety, ethics and fundamental rights are the key focus of the AI Act. The enforcement regime in the Bill is robust and builds on the strong market surveillance frameworks already in place. It enables the ramping up of enforcement, from contravention notices to encouragement of compliance to the larger fines. That is incredibly important to say about safety, ethics and fundamental rights.
There was some discussion about the labour market. I would be the first, and I think I always have been since I have come into this Chamber to discuss artificial intelligence, to put my hand up and say there will be labour disruption and displacement. There is certainly no putting our heads in the sand over that matter. The establishment of the AI office seeks to address that. The Government is committed to preparing Ireland for the inevitable transition that is happening within the workplace. Ireland has had its third highest level of STEM graduates. One of the biggest demands of qualified students coming here to Ireland is for AI-related jobs, even though I acknowledge there have been job lay-offs in certain companies. However, it is important to note that there is still huge and driving demand for those skilled in AI. The leading providers have established in this country, along with our strong education system, and we continue to attract that talent and investment. It was noted that we have some of the biggest AI companies here in Ireland. That is because we create the environment for that. We are in no way attempting to compromise that or compromise any of the jobs that are directly affected by that. The national AI and digital strategy provides establishment of OBAIR to monitor and provide insight into the evolving impact of AI on skills and the labour force. That is all done under the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Within our own Department, we are also setting about to establish an observatory that looks at exactly that - the implication for jobs - and trying to mitigate that as much as possible.
The national AI digital strategy has been refreshed on a number of occasions to try to really be that agile blueprint that we can refer to and work with all the time. It is certainly not going to be stiff or stale, or sitting on a shelf. Again the officials are to be applauded for the incredible work on that.
Deputy Lawlor went into great detail on constitutional matters. I know he may not have been here for my introduction to this but all the provisions of the Bill have been drafted with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, with constant engagement and consultation with the Office of the Attorney General on the legal and constitutional matters. However, I have taken copious notes, and I am sure my officials have too, on the matters he raised tonight. We will certainly do our best to bring peace of mind to that.
Another matter that was raised on a number of occasions was AI literacy. The role of the AI office is not just oversight of the regulatory market surveillance and regulatory bodies that already exist. As the general scheme recognises, effective AI regulation depends not only on enforcement but also on the appropriate level of AI literacy of those who develop, deploy, use or are impacted by AI systems. To support the development of AI literacy, the AI office has been given a very specific role around AI literacy, supporting awareness of AI-related risks and obligations; providing guidance and information to organisations and to public bodies; facilitating informed engagement with AI technologies and contributing to public trust in terms of the AI systems. It is not going to be a one-trick pony. It is a very broad, all-encompassing, across-the-board piece of legislation, which has been described to me as horizontal, that the AI office will bring to the fore.
I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for being here until the conclusion of the Bill. She raised certain things and I assure her they are being addressed. I can provide her with further reassurance and notes. She raised independence and resourcing. I am certainly going to address that. I think I have addressed displacement already in my closing comments.
On regional developments, the Deputy is absolutely right that there is huge potential. She and I both come from very rural parts of this island, and I think that is one of the absolute benefits to AI deployment.
Simplification has come up quite a lot, with negativity about having another regulatory body. The Department and officials have been so cognisant of not bringing in more red tape or burying business and SMEs in more bureaucracy, to actually make things simple and not add another layer of time-consuming cost burden to business. I want to acknowledge that and state it on the record.
Deputy Conway-Walsh also raised transparency and the creative industries. As somebody who has come from the creative industries, I am very mindful around copyright and artists' work being mimicked or copied without their approval, their say or any remuneration. All of that is being taken into consideration and I can supply the Deputy with further information on all the matters she raised here tonight.
I hope I have addressed Deputy Keogh's piece on AI literacy in some way tonight, too.
I thank all the Deputies for their contributions to the debate and look forward to their support in this Bill and its further consideration on Committee Stage. I re-emphasise that the purpose of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 is to provide for the implementation in Ireland of the AI Act and EU regulation. This Bill is a landmark for Ireland's digital regulatory framework. AI is a transformative technology which offers extraordinary potential for our economy and our citizens, but realising that potential requires appropriate oversight and accountability. This Bill delivers exactly that. It fulfils Ireland's EU obligations, giving effect to Ireland's pioneering AI Act in domestic law by ensuring we have the national infrastructure in place to supervise and enforce it effectively.
The Bill establishes Oifig IS na hÉireann, the new AI office in Ireland, as an independent institution at the centre of our AI regulatory system, and empowers our competent authorities with the investigative and enforcement tools they need and, most importantly, the skill base that everybody has referred to, the skills that are needed in terms of scrutinising AI that will be available to the competent authorities.
Ireland has adopted a distributive model for the regulation of AI, levering the expertise and capability of the State's existing regulators and providing that expertise to them. This is speaking to the fact that we do not want to bring any extra regulatory burden. We must remember that regulation is the gold stamp of approval. The businesses I have talked to want that approval. They want to know what the safeguards and rules of engagement are around AI. That is going to bring confidence to this country, particularly to those in business and enterprise. It is not mitigation or putting a huge emphasis on enterprise and forgetting about the human centrepiece, which is being really considered throughout this work.
I would particularly like to thank the many Government Departments and their authorities, agencies and offices that have been involved in consultation on this Bill. My Department remains actively engaged with the competent authorities and their line Departments as preparations for implementation of the AI Act and enactment of the Bill continue. Again I note that the Bill is a technical instrument that will ensure that the rights and protections provided by the EU's AI Act will be rigorously asserted in Ireland for the benefit and protection of Irish citizens. It does not add to or alter the obligations on businesses under the AI Act. It is mandatory under the AI Act for EU member states to give effect to these national provisions by 2 August 2026. I thank all the colleagues around the House and most particularly the officials in the Department, who have worked might and main to bring this to fruition.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-24